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Celebrating 125 years of the School of Jewellery

The School of Jewellery celebrates its 125th anniversary in 2015 with an extensive programme of events throughout the year.

An important aim of our special year is to capture the successes and memories of our Alumni from all over the world. These pages will highlight our calendar of activities and archive the outcomes of our celebrations.

The School of Jewellery has as much significance today as it did in 1890 when the Birmingham Jewellery and Silversmiths’ Association opened the exclusive school for the jewellery making industry in a factory building at 84 Vittoria Street. Still situated on the same site and having undergone extensive development and refurbishment, the School continues to focus on excellence in education and training.

Our students can experience traditional skills through cutting-edge technology while also being encouraged to experiment with materials through processes. By exploring the boundaries and engaging with research the School offers a greater depth of career potential than ever before. Its unrivalled portfolio of courses includes the niche subject of Horology and an exclusive Gemmology BSc to create a unique provision at the heart of the famous Jewellery Quarter.

20 March The cutting edge of digital technologies in jewellery design and manufacture

This Digital Week event, which is also part of the School's 125 birthday celebrations, will give you the opportunity to see a number of different advanced digital technologies in action. You will see examples of how these technologies are being used to create and manufacture jewellery or other complex digitally created artefacts.

There will also be opportunities to design a ring, in minutes, using a digital online application, and see 3D printing in action.

You can view a short presentation about how the Jewellery Industry Innovation Centre (JIIC) is working with Birmingham Museum Trust to create replicas of the Staffordshire Hoard using a variety of digital technologies.

Visitors will also have an opportunity to actually handle various reproductions of parts of the Staffordshire Hoard.

JIIC Technical Manager Frank Cooper will be on hand throughout the event to demonstrate and explain the various exhibits and technologies on show.